Proceed With Caution
by SkyChasingDreamer
Summary: Boarding School AU - rating will change - Gintoki was shaking and his face had gone deathly pale, Hijikata couldn't leave him like that, he'd only been looking for help. Things had gone from casual to frantic and though Hijikata didn't like the guy, this really wasn't how he'd wanted things to happen. He'd only wanted to dunk Gintoki in the water, not break one of his bones!


**Title: **Proceed with Caution

**Pairing: **HijiGinHiji – Hijikata is the main top in this one /rolls

**Rating: **T to M to NC17

**Disclaimer: **No

**A/N:** Link to art on my profile page!

**Proceed with Caution**

Hijikata ran to the bank of the creek and grabbed Gintoki by the collar of his uniform to help haul him the rest of the way out of the water. He was drenched head to toe and Hijikata didn't care when water splashed on him, he was freaking out too much to give a shit about much of anything. Something had gone wrong, something big, everything was ruined, he felt terrible!

"Shit! I – shit – are you okay?"

"Do I fuckin' look okay?" Gintoki yelled back, staring at his arm as he fell heavily to his knees. "W-what do I – why's it bending that way?"

Hijikata's eyes widened in horror. "I t-think it's broken!"

"You broke my arm?" His right arm was definitely broken, but everything about Gintoki's expression said that he didn't understand. "Do something!"

"W-what do I do?"

"I don't know! Why would I know? O-ouch... it – ouch! I-it really fuckin' hurts!"

Hijikata was straight up panicking. "Fuck! Should I get someone?"

"Yes? I don't – oi! D-don't just leave me!"

"I wasn't gonna!"

Gintoki was shaking and his face had gone deathly pale, Hijikata couldn't leave him like that, he'd only been looking for help. Things had gone from casual to frantic and though Hijikata didn't like the guy, this really wasn't how he'd wanted things to happen. He'd only wanted to dunk Gintoki in the water, not break one of his bones!

Looking around, he yelled at the first person he saw, "You! Oi! Yeah, you! We need... fuck, we need the nurse or... someone! Go get someone! A teacher or something!" Reaching down, he grabbed Gintoki's good arm and gave him a tug. "C-c'mon, your legs aren't b-broken! Get up!"

Gintoki was shaking so bad he stumbled getting up and it was out of sheer reflex that Hijikata took off his jacket and put it around Gintoki's shoulders. He didn't know why he did it, it didn't help anything and he didn't think Gintoki was shaking because he was cold. Well, the water couldn't have been warm, so maybe it was from the cold, but – but – fuck! What could he do? He didn't know the first thing about broken arms!

"Q-quit shakin' so goddamn much!"

"I can't h-h-help it!" His teeth were chattering so hard that his words were strung out. "That w-water was freez-z-zing!"

"Get your shit together, the doors aren't that far!"

They started moving and honestly, Hijikata was still trying to get his shit together himself. He was going to be in so much trouble for this and the whole thing was so stupid – how was he going to face his brother? How could he ever show his face in front of his friends? That sounded so dramatic, but he was seriously worried about these things! He'd really fucked up and he was sure no one was going to let him forget it.

The trek to the front doors didn't take as long as he thought it would since Gintoki was walking sort of okay. He was shaking really bad and his already pale skin had reached a level of pale that made him look like he had one foot in the grave. It was ghastly and yet another testament to how awful Hijikata was. How could he do this to someone? Granted, breaking Gintoki's arm hadn't been on his mind, but that was what had happened and his stomach was in knots over it. There were some people Hijikata didn't think twice about going after, but on the whole, Gintoki hadn't deserved this.

They got up the stone steps and through the door and it was amazing that there wasn't anyone nearby on the school grounds and even more amazing how few people there were inside. Normally the place was buzzing with students and faculty going in and out on their own personal agendas, but of course, when an adult was needed, there wasn't one to be found. The first student they saw was an average looking boy that froze the moment he saw them, Hijikata had no idea what had become of the first boy.

Hijikata lost his patience right away, snapping, "Don't just s-stand there! Do somethin'!"

The poor boy looked so stricken and his arms were motioning helplessly. "I'll go... go get someone?"

"Yes!" Hijikata barked and looped an arm around Gintoki's waist while he grabbed his good arm to help keep him steady. "The head nurse! Let her know we're coming!" The guy just kept standing there until Hijikata snarled, "_Now_!"

As soon as he scurried away, Hijikata got Gintoki moving in the right direction. Gintoki probably didn't need the support, but Hijikata was giving it anyway since it looked like he was going to keel over soon. The other was shaking so much and his teeth kept chattering, this was hitting every limb down the fucked up situation tree.

"Are you cold?"

"I – can't tell."

Okay, then, it was definitely some form of shock he was going into, which was maybe – most likely – his body trying to protect him from the pain. That made the most sense, but Hijikata shivered because of the water seeping through at his side, so it was probably a mixture of both things. The more they walked, they more people saw them and Hijikata hated himself for it. He tightened his hold on Gintoki and sped up, his face turning red. Gintoki managed the change just fine, but he did accidentally slip a couple times because of his wet shoes.

Whispers could be heard around them and it doubled Hijikata's panic, making him more anxious. He didn't want people to see what he'd done, he just wanted to fix it and set it right. As much as he might think he wanted Gintoki to have some great demise, he never _actually _wanted to hurt the bastard! He really, really hadn't!

-o-O-o-

Two Days Before

-o-O-o-

So, Hijikata went to a boarding school with his closest friends. He liked the school a lot – the faculty was great, the grounds were beautiful, the uniforms weren't hideous – there was so much to like about this place. It was his second year and his first year had been a memorable experience that Hijikata cherished and would continue to cherish for years to come. He'd been so worried about leaving his brother to come here, but after his first few months acclimating, he got over that, though, he does miss his brother, of course.

However, even though he did like the school, such a wonderful place had to have its flaws. Or just flaw. Singular. One flaw.

Sakata Gintoki, that was the flaw.

He hadn't attended the first year, but he was in the same grade as Hijikata and Gintoki was a goddamn nightmare. Hijikata didn't even know where to start with how atrocious Gintoki was and it was because of him that Hijikata's second year wasn't going nearly as well as his first year had.

It was at lunch that Hijikata always felt the most alienated, so he was going to start the telling of how awful Gintoki was from there. As it was, Hijikata had his small group of friends that he sat with consistently in the same place, he had a _seat_ that was his and only his for god's sake, but then there was Gintoki who seemed to sit with new people at different tables every fucking day. Hijikata wasn't jealous, but it got annoying that whenever Gintoki walked into the lunchroom he was being called out to all over the place.

He was a fucking _jock_.

Hijikata didn't know what sports he played except, like, _all of them_. The fucker was good at everything and he acted like he didn't know it or that he was too good for it. He just kind of picked up on things with this weird natural talent that was half-assed and so often he looked bored with it.

But the most annoying thing?

How about all of Hijikata's friends _liking_ the guy? Kondo? Loved him! Couldn't get enough of saying hi to Gintoki! Sougo? Oh, Sougo was fucking psycho, he'd taken to Gintoki right away and treated him like some kind of god. Hijikata _still _couldn't believe it! And it was Sougo's fault that Hijikata had gotten into the pranking thing with Gintoki and he couldn't just get out of it because it'd make him look weak. It would look like Gintoki had won and no way in hell was Hijikata going to give him the satisfaction.

The whole pranking scenario had started out so simple, but it had escalated so quickly and turned into something so preoccupying Hijikata had developed a strong sense of paranoia, he was always looking both ways and watching his back. The only friend he could count on was Mitsuba, but even _she_ thought the pranking was all in good fun and she admitted to enjoying being a spectator. She found it entertaining – what a joke! And she'd even called it cute once! Hijikata was losing his fucking mind over it and no one seemed to notice or care!

What was worse?

Gintoki.

He was worse.

Every time Hijikata pulled off something good, Gintoki took it in stride and laughed about it. So far, the only thing Hijikata was most proud of was dying Gintoki's hair a really intense shade of mauve. What had Gintoki done? He'd laughed obnoxiously and paraded it around like it was the next best thing, the latest trend. The stupid bastard even fucking pulled it off! Who pulled off mauve hair and got compliments out of it? He'd heard Gintoki had gotten asked out while looking so stupid – how the fucking hell?

He didn't understand it, but Hijikata was brewing something up, something huge that would put an end to the pranking, it was _that _good. He... hadn't thought of it yet, but when he did, look out! He was so tired of all the pranks, he couldn't take it anymore. It'd been sort of amusing in the beginning, trying to one up the bastard, but he was running out of any decent ideas and he wouldn't go back to doing petty shit, it'd gone too far since then.

Plus, pranking aside, another stupid thing about the guy was that he ate so many _sweets_. Hijikata didn't know why that was so offensive, but it was and it always made Hijikata's lip curl. Gintoki ate sweets all the time and traded different parts of his meals to get more desserts. For six weeks, Hijikata had been pranking this sugar freak, for six weeks he'd watched Gintoki eat copious amounts of sugar that should have killed him by now, and for six weeks he and Gintoki hadn't had a single conversation. They'd talked a few times, but really they'd just traded insults and squinted at each other.

Gintoki was fucking weird.

He looked like he was having fun after each prank and more than once, he'd looked at Hijikata and _winked_. Winked! Actually, he did that with pretty much everyone, but that was beside the point. They were nowhere near friends, not even fucking close. Hijikata didn't want to be his friend or get to know him. He wanted Gintoki _gone_. Gintoki was no good, he was a sly fucker that had somehow managed to charm everyone and fool them into thinking he was any kind of cool, which he wasn't. Hijikata didn't understand why no one else could see it and whenever he vented to Mitsuba, she'd pat his hand consolingly and had that little smile on her face, the one that made it seem like she was having the best inside joke with herself.

On top of everything, Gintoki made friends with all grades and it felt like every teacher adored him. He was pretty much the class clown – Hijikata didn't think he was at all funny – but people fawned over him like he was the best thing on earth. Hijikata really didn't see what was so great about the idiot. The most noticeable thing about him was that he was albino, but that wasn't any reason to want him around! _He had permy hair!_ Didn't that count for anything? It was always so fluffed up and curly and offensive. It offended Hijikata to no end, that perm.

But another thing, okay, what kind of guy wore a dumb necklace with a strawberry on it? Oh, also, he wore a red watch with _strawberries on it, _what a fucking loser! Everyone else thought it was cute and so adorable, it made Hijikata sick to his stomach.

Now, Hijikata was bitching a lot, but he really wasn't that type of guy. Gintoki just rubbed him the wrong way and it was so frustrating because it honestly brought out the worst in him. That was a large part of why he hated the stupid perm so much, it gave people the wrong impression of him. Hijikata was quiet, he didn't have a ton of friends, but the ones he did have he'd protect and cherish until he died. Except Sougo... sometimes... maybe. No, Sougo, too, even if he was an annoying sadistic piece of shit. It was Sougo's first year and he was one of the lucky few to get to room with upperclassmen – namely, Kondo and Hijikata. They'd requested it to be like that, Mitsuba had wanted Sougo with familiar people, so Hijikata had done his damnedest to make it happen.

Point being, Hijikata preferred quiet, close circles and wasn't very sociable. He only got along with a select few people and while he'd known Kondo longer, Mitsuba was his closest confidant. Too bad for her that Hijikata was tight lipped about everything and liked to keep things to himself as much as he could. He didn't confide in people often and tended to deal with his troubles on his own, that was how he'd always done it and the last thing he wanted was to feel like a burden to anyone. He was happy with what he had and didn't feel like he needed anything else, or more to the point, he didn't want for anything.

With the exception of wanting this pranking shit to end and maybe for Gintoki to disappear off the face of the planet, that would be great. Then things could go back to normal the way Hijikata liked it and the whole thing could be put behind him like it'd never happened. He _still _flushed every time he saw a paper towel dispenser because Gintoki had followed Hijikata into the bathroom one day and slapped a 'voice activated' sticker on the only dispenser in the room. Hijikata was a complete dumbass for thinking it was legitimate, but he'd stood there for several minutes yelling at the thing expecting paper towels to come out, which they never did. That had been so embarrassing, people were talking about it for _days _and Hijikata had just wanted to burrow under his covers and never come back out.

He disliked attention about as much as Gintoki thrived on it and being in this pranking thing only attracted attention. Lots of attention, it seemed like everyone was waiting to see who would do what next. He really hated that, he hated being watched and talked about, he liked to just fade into the background and enjoy things from a distance. Being the focal point was stressful and he didn't want any part of it anymore, that was why this prank had to be the end game to all the pranks.

Hijikata was just finishing up his day, every student had a full schedule and was required to do different extra curricular activities to keep everyone busy and involved. That meant clubs or functions, whatever anyone found interesting. Hijikata liked music, so he was part of a musical instrument club that allowed him to remain solitary, but also play in a group if he wanted while he got guidance from an professional instructor. He liked the one-on-one sessions more than the group sessions, but above that, he liked just playing by himself somewhere. The only person he played in front of was Mitsuba because she liked it and Hijikata felt comfortable with her.

Of classes, he and Gintoki had four out of seven together – math, language arts, biology, and then they had the same free study period. School began at eight in the morning and went until three forty-five in the afternoon, each class being a solid forty-five minutes with fifteen minutes in between to get to the next class. There were two lunches, lunch A and lunch B, the first began at twelve-fifteen and the second began at one. Just like classes, lunch was forty-five minutes and it was just Hijikata's terrible luck that he and Gintoki were both in lunch A together. Hijikata's schedule was math, physics, language arts, biology, government, free, then economics and he liked his classes, but he got too anxious in the ones he shared with Gintoki. Never knowing when the bastard was going to pull something or what he was going to do, it was nerve-racking.

It was near three-thirty when he went into his room and unlocked it with the key on a lanyard around his neck, then beelined right to his bed. There were three beds in the room, one single bed and one bunk bed by the far wall across from the door. It was first come, first serve with the beds. The person who got there first at the start of the year got to choose which bed they wanted. Hijikata had managed second, so he'd ended up with the bottom bunk. He'd shared a room with Kondo for two years and he was a good roommate to have, though, he could get a little sloppy sometimes.

Gintoki had three main cronies, none of which Hijikata cared for at all. Sakamoto was far too loud and annoying, much like Gintoki himself. It was no wonder they'd found and taken to each other on basically the first day. The other two were Gintoki's roommates and Hijikata really didn't like either of them. Katsura was a thief and he always got away with it, it drove Hijikata crazy! And Takasugi was downright repulsive. He always acted like such a punk, like he was better than everyone else and it was so obvious that he enjoyed it when Gintoki pranked Hijikata. Just thinking about that smug bastard's face made Hijikata's cheeks flush with embarrassed anger.

He sat there on his bed plotting and idly eating the stuff he'd grabbed for lunch, he didn't really like to eat in the cafeteria these days. He had a bunch of homework to do, so he pulled that out and spread it out on his bed in front of him. There were three desks along the wall to the right and Hijikata had snagged the one by the window. It was only as an afterthought that he gathered his stuff and went to the desk. The seat was comfortable and the desk itself was big enough to fit all of his stuff.

His was the neatest desk, Kondo's was the messiest and Hijikata had to consistently push Kondo's stuff back over onto his own desk since they were side by side. He was just glad he didn't have to be next to Sougo, that wouldn't end well, they could barely stand being near each other without Sougo being a problem.

Overall, he liked his room and for the most part, enjoyed his roommates. Sougo was off and on, but Hijikata had known both of them for years, so Sougo was, depending on the day, excusable. It was only when their antics interfered with his studies that he got temperamental with them. But at the end of the day, he couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather be staying with since boys weren't allowed to room with girls, thus, ruling Mitsuba out as an option. It counted as something, too, that his room was one of the places he felt safest.

He looked out the window at the school grounds and he was glad that his he had a decent view of it. Students were all over the place, filtering around on such a nice day and it looked like many of them had opted to go outside after classes. There was a creek running through the grounds and a bridge to get to the other side. There were soccer fields, an area for outdoor basketball, plenty of room to sit and study, and there were woods in an arc surrounding the whole place. Within those woods were all sorts of paths and wildlife and a few observatory shacks that classes would visit for activities.

Hijikata was just shy of enjoying the landscape until he spotted a shock of unmistakable white hair. His everything soured, his stomach dropped, his face fell, he could only glare ineffectually at Gintoki's stupid head. Feeling particularly vindictive, he lifted a hand and closed an eye so he could pretend he was squishing Gintoki's head between his forefinger and thumb. The moron was surrounded by a hoard, he was laughing at something and tossed an item only to get something different tossed back. Probably trading food, on second thought – probably for some more fucking sugar.

Hijikata needed a good prank, something that would knock Gintoki right off his fucking pedestal. He was going to relish it, but he really needed the idea, that was all. Smothering Gintoki with saran wrap sounded pleasant, but the risk and likelihood that he'd get caught were too high. Hijikata couldn't deny that he had somewhat of a violent steak in him because of his temper. Typically, he was fairly mild, but once he got revved up about something, his temper flared and he always acted before he thought. It wasn't a good trait, it wasn't something he liked about himself, but he was doing his best to handle it and Mitsuba was helping him with his anger management.

He tapped his pen against his desk repeatedly, thinking and utterly distracted. He needed this fucking prank so bad and he wanted his epiphany moment. He'd seen that kind of stuff happen in TV shows and movies, that moment where the protagonist got their _moment_ where everything became clear. That was what Hijikata was waiting on as he glared at Gintoki's head and hoped he fell off... the bridge railing... he was sitting on...

The bridge.

The railing on the bridge that Gintoki always sat on.

It... wasn't that great of a prank, but it was _something_ and everything else he was coming up with was crap. If he could find a way to use the bridge and send Gintoki in for a swim, that would be pretty satisfying. Hopefully the day would be windy and it'd churn up the mud so Gintoki would get good and filthy when he fell in. Like, have to wash his uniform right away or, better yet, get a whole new one.

To be honest, Hijikata felt really juvenile because of all these pranks, just having to reduce to such low antics that gave only momentary satisfaction before he had to move onto the next one. He was running out of ammunition on top of that, which sucked. He'd always kind of thought of himself as clever, maybe a little creative when he needed to be, but Gintoki kept proving him wrong. Always one step ahead, always better in some way, Hijikata was sick of it.

And the really shitty part was that people seemed to think every prank Gintoki did was hilarious, while everything Hijikata did in return was dumb and made him the enemy. He could tell in the way people looked at him like they were judging him and wanted nothing to do with him. That was fine, he didn't want anything to do with them, either, since he had the people he deemed important already, but they had no right to judge him.

Hijikata also had a suspicion that Sougo or someone, maybe multiple people, were helping Gintoki plot and execute. That really wasn't fair if it was true, he and Gintoki should go head to head on this and not be helped by anyone else, that was as good as cheating. Hijikata was hell bent on calling Gintoki out on it if the opportunity ever presented itself. At one point, he'd been so desperate he'd considered asking Sougo for help, but didn't actually do it because with his luck, Sougo would just tell Gintoki and it'd all be ruined. He also didn't do it because it'd make him a hypocrite and if Gintoki wasn't allowed to ask for help, then Hijikata sure as shit shouldn't be asking for help. The whole thing was a hassle and a dilemma, Hijikata wanted nothing more to do with it.

But the bridge thing, that had potential.

Maybe if he tricked Gintoki to somehow go out there by himself... no, that wouldn't be likely. The guy was an idiot, but he always had people surrounding him and following him around like lost little ducklings. He'd have to wait until later to properly check out the bridge and how it was set up since he'd never spent too much time on it, so in the mean time, he turned his attention to his homework. He felt better that he had something of an idea because that was better than nothing.

-o-O-o-

Back to the Present

-o-O-o-

"You o-okay over there?"

"Yeah."

Gintoki didn't sound okay at all and Hijikata couldn't even blame anything on his chattering teeth. Their shoes squeaked on the floor with each step, announcing their arrival and drawing every eye and inquisitive look to them. He turned them down the medical wing and the boy from before was pacing around the outside of the door. When he saw them, he jumped in place like a goddamn spaz and said something inside the door. Seconds later, a very tall, slim woman with sharp cheekbones came strutting out.

"What happened?"

Hijikata was panicked and opened his mouth to answer, but Gintoki beat him to it.

"I f-fell!" Even held close to him, Gintoki's arm was bent in the most grotesque way. "The creek – a-ah, the bridge broke a-and I landed wrong."

She clicked her tongue in admonishment and took Gintoki away. It was really that fast, one moment he was there at Hijikata's side and the next he was walking off with the nurse. Hijikata was left grappling and gaping, he... didn't get it. With the way Hijikata's stomach dropped and swooped, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or possibly more terrified that Gintoki hadn't told the truth. The first thing that came to mind was that Gintoki was doing it for revenge and had something big planned to get back at him. That had to be it, it was the only thing that made sense.

Hijikata was doomed.

This was it, Hijikata had done it, it was all over for him. He stood outside the nurse's office and though he wasn't the one that had taken a plunge, he felt numb. Everything had gone according to plan... until Gintoki wound up with a broken arm, that hadn't been part of any thought Hijikata had had. Well, not quite. He could get rather ruthless, but only in his mind! Something so bad wasn't supposed to become a reality, now he just felt like dirt and he should never feel that way, especially because of someone like Gintoki.

He'd gone out the day before and waited until later in the evening to get a closer look at the layout of the bridge. It was older and the wood was rotting in some places, but the best thing was that the railing could be tampered with. Gintoki liked to sit right in the middle of it, so all Hijikata had to do was loosen the screws holding the spindles in that part. That way, the moment Gintoki sat on that, it'd give way and send him for a swim.

Hijikata had felt like a stalker after that because ever since he'd loosened the spindles, he'd been watching Gintoki's every move. No way was he going to miss this, he'd wanted to see the look of shock and surprise on Gintoki's dumb face as he pitched backward and got slam dunked into the creek. He'd been waiting and waiting for Gintoki to make a trip to the bridge, but he didn't go there for awhile, not even for lunch. Mitsuba had commented that Hijikata was acting weird because he kept disappearing, but he couldn't explain to her why he didn't want to miss the main event.

Where had things gone wrong?

Well, first, Gintoki had gone out alone when he usually never did that. Second, it was during their free period. Third, the stars must have aligned just right to fuck this up. The whole universe was against Hijikata, like, he couldn't just fuck up, he had to _seriously_ fuck up. That was why it didn't matter that the nuse had taken Gintoki, Hijikata wasn't going to leave until he knew whether Gintoki was going to be permanently crippled or not – also, he needed his jacket back. Honestly though, Hijikata couldn't in his right mind leave no matter how much he wanted to run back to his room and burrow under his covers until everyone forgot he existed.

Someone cleared their throat and Hijikata glared at the boy from before. "Why're you still here?"

"I... I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. He looked pretty hurt."

Hijikata's mouth thinned out and he sat heavily on a bench along the wall outside the door. "He did, didn't he?"

"Not to mention soaked."

"You're not helpin'."

"Right, sorry."

"Quit apologizin'. You can go, there's no need for you to stay."

"That's true... give Gintoki my best!"

Hijikata wasn't even surprised. "You know him?"

"Hm? Well, yeah," the boy replied, having stopped mid-stride, "we've met. He helped me out with a... problem I was having with some kids a grade above. Who're you?"

"Hijikata is fine."

"Oh, yeah! I think I know you! Er, not _know_ you, but heard of you. I'm Yamazaki, this is my first year here."

"That's nice."

"I really hope Gintoki's okay. What happened?"

Continuity was important and though it didn't feel right, Hijikata went along with what Gintoki had said.

"The bridge broke and he fell in the water."

Yamazaki winced. "Ouch. The water level is really low right now since we haven't had a rain in awhile. I bet the school is going to be all over covering this up, too."

"How do you figure?"

"A student getting hurt and breaking an arm because of property malfunction? They'll want to keep that as quiet as possible."

"I-it was an accident though."

"My mom's a lawyer and I can definitely tell you that there have been lawsuits over much smaller things. Like, last year there was a guy that sued his phone company for his addiction to porn!" Hijikata stared and Yamazaki's smile faded as he realized what he just blurted out. Face turning an interesting shade of red, he took a couple nervous steps away, saying, "Well, I do hope he's okay! I've got to go now, see you!"

He bolted so fast, Hijikata almost felt bad for him, but that had been awkward, so he was glad Yamazaki left. Hijikata didn't know how long it was going to take before the nurse would be able to give him more information or tell him when he'd get to see Gintoki, but one thing was for sure, he wasn't leaving until he talked to Gintoki. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach for a lot of reasons and he had a gut feeling that things were only going to get worse before they could ever get any better.

Leg moving up and down in nervous habit, the waiting began.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
